The proportion of British people who describe themselves as having no religion has reached 53 per cent – the highest level NatCen’s British Social Attitudes survey has recorded.
The figure is up from 48 per cent recorded in 2015 and well up from the 31 per cent recorded in 1983.
NatCen‘s data showed the decline in religious affiliation is hitting the Church of England “particularly hard” with the latest data showing just 15 per cent of the population considered themselves Anglican, a figure half that of those who said so in 2000. The proportion of Catholics, meanwhile, has remained stable at about one in 10 over the past 30 years. About six per cent of people identify with non-Christian faiths.
The fall in religious affiliation has been driven in part by young people with the data showing 71 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 years reported having no religion in 2016, up from 62 per cent in 2015. Among older groups, meanwhile, people with no religion are in the minority – just four in 10 people aged 65 to 74 say they have no religion, a figure which drops to just 27 per cent among the over 75s.
Roger Harding, head of public attitudes at the National Centre for Social Research, said the increase follows a long-term trend.
“The differences by age are stark and with so many younger people not having a religion it’s hard to see this change abating any time soon,” he said. “The falls in those belonging to the Church of England are the most notable, but these figures should cause all religious leaders to pause for thought.”
Mr Harding added that the survey also revealed that religious people are becoming more socially liberal on issues like same sex relationships and abortion. “With falling numbers some faith leaders might wonder whether they should be doing more to take their congregation’s lead on adapting to how society is changing.”
The 2016 British Social Attitudes survey was carried out with 2,942 people between July and October last year.
